Frameless window screen



Jan. 11, 1955 Filed June 17, 1952 J. BANNER ET AL FRAMELESS WINDOW SCREEN 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTQRS JOSEPH BANNER CHARLES VI. KEICH ATTORNEY Jan. 11, 1955 J. BANNER ETAL 2,699,206

FRAMELESS WINDOW SCREEN Filed June 17, 1952 FIG.3.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 38 I516 l7 I2 FIG.6.

23 INVENTORS 33 l5 l6 l7 l2 JOSEPH BANNER CHARLES W. KEICH FIG. 7.

I4 30 24 l8 l2 BY N 5 5 9 7 ATTORNEY United States Patent FRAMELESS WINDOW SCREEN Joseph Banner, Los Angeles, and Charles W. Keich, Encino, Califi, assignors to The (Zolumhia Mills, Inc, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 17, 1952, Serial No. 293,944

10 Claims. (8]. 160-328) This invention relates to a frameless window screen.

One object of the invention is to provide a frameless window screen particularly useful in metal casement type windows, having means at the two sides of the window for tensioning the screen. Another object is to provide a frameless tension screen in which the tension may be adjusted as desired or necessary to hold the screen against the window frame. Another object is to provide frameless window screens which are simple in construction and installation and which may be installed without special skill or tools. A further object is to provide a frameless window screen which is inexpensive to construct. A further object is to provide a frameless tension screen which cannot be easily released by children or unauthorized persons, but which is readily released and replaced by use of a screw driver. A still further object is to provide a frameless window screen particularly adapted for use in metal casement-type windows which may be adjusted for variations in the position of existing screw holes in the windows. A still further object is to provide a window or door screen which is adjustably attached at the sides thereof, the top and the bottom edges of the screen fabric being tensioned for close fitting to the window or door frame.

These and other objects are attained by our invention which will be understood from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of our frameless screen taken from the inside of a casement window frame on which it is mounted;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a side rail of the window screen;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of the attachment and tensioning means for our frameless screen;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

P Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view on the line 66 of Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the lever element of the screen tensioning means;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the cam element of the spring tensioning means;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view in disassembly showing the bracket and a side rail of the frameless screen;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary front view of an alternative attachment means on the bracket for engaging a hole in the window frame;

Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 11; and

Fig. 13 is a plan view of an alternative lever means for turning the cam member.

The preferred form of our invention shown on the drawings Figures 1 to 10 consists of right and left side rails 11 and 12, the screen fabric 13 which is attached to the side rails, brackets 14, and tensioning means which adjustably fasten the side rails 11 and 12 to the window frame 15. The window frame 15 as shown, is of welded metal construction of the type used for casement windows, the frame normally having a smooth face on the inside, against which the screen is mounted.

The side rails 11 and 12 of the frameless screen are 2,699,206 Patented Jan. 11, 1955 formed of stiif metal strips arranged with a holding flange 17 in which the edge of the screen fabric 13 is engaged, as shown particularly in Figures 2 and 4. The side rails 11 and 12 are constructed of sheet metal strips having a base strip 16 which abuts the face of the edge of the window frame. The base strip is provided with a longitudinally extending offset 18 intermediate its edges and the longitudinal edge opposite the base strip is bent inwardly and back toward the offset 18 to form a holding flange 17. The edge of the screen fabric extends over the edge of said flange and then is frictionally engaged between the flange and the adjacent portion of the rail. The screen cloth is thus removably attached to the side rails so that the screen fabric may be cut to the desired window size and then inserted and held in the side rails. The two side rails are attached to the corresponding side faces of the window frame by the bracket members 14, for ordinary sized windows there being two brackets on each side.

The bracket member 14, see particularly Fig. 10, consists of a base plate 20 having a pair of hook arms 21 which are offset from the base plate 20 as shown at 22, the arms being provided with hooks 23 arranged to engage the inner edge of a side rail, 11 or 12. Adjacent the hooks are provided holding tabs 24 which are positioned and of suitable length to fit in the groove 19 formed at the reentrant edge of the offset 18 of the side rails. The holding tabs 24 are each provided with longitudinal slots 25 which may be used to fix the longitudinal position of the brackets on the rails corresponding to the position of the attachment screw 26 on the window frame. As seen in Figs. 3 and 7, this fastening of the brackets is accomplished by inserting the blade of a screw driver in the slots 25 and opening the outer portion of the slot so that the edge adjacent the groove 19 presses against the groove surface on the side rail. The base plate 20 of the bracket means is also provided at one outside corner with a pivot hole 27 by which the lever member 28 is pivotally attached. The tension arm or lever member 28, shown particularly in Fig. 8, consists of a metal plate having at one end the hole 29 for the pivot 30, and is provided with an elongated hole 31 which serves as a cam follower for the cam member 32 shown particularly in Fig. 9. The cam member 32 consists of a circular cam 33 which is eccentrically mounted on the rivet 34, this rivet, when headed or pressed out to rotatably hold the cam member 32 to base plate 20, is provided at the head with a screw driver slot 35 by which the cam 33 may be rotated. The lever member 28 is also provided on its outer end with an attachment ring or hole 36 which is adapted to engage an oval headed screw 26 which is affixed to the window frame 15. The outer portion of lever member adjacent the ring or hole 36 is offset at 38 to permit close fitting to the window frame face.

In the alternative arrangement shown in Figs. 11 and 12 the frame hook 36A on the lever member 28A is adapted to engage a hole in the side members of the window frame.

The screen is easily mounted on the window frame. Steel window frames are commonly provided with holes at the edges into which the screws 26 may be threaded, or holes may be especially provided for screws 26 or for engagement by the hooks 36A. The take-up in the width of the screen by the brackets of both sides of the screen is sufficient to allow for any irregularity in the placement of the holes for the screws 26. The provision of the bracket members on both sides of the screen gives greater latitude in varying the width, and in the tensioning of the wire fabric. Thescreen units are assembled for standard window sizes with the side rails attached to the opposite edges of the screen fabric, and each rail is provided with the necessary number of brackets, usually two, whose position vertically can be adjusted prior to the fixing the longitudinal position by the opening of the slot 25 on the holding tabs. The screen is easily installed after the screws 26 are placed in the frame and is also easily removed by means of a screw driver in the screw-driver slot 35 of the rivets 34, or by means of the attached levers 35A. The tapered headed screws 26 remain in place on the window frame. The screen sizes may be altered readily to fit non-standard windows by hacksawing the side rails, and fitting a properly sized screen fabric.

The screens may also be advantageously applied to wood frames of windows and screen doors.

We claim:

1. A frameless window screen comprising a piece of screen fabric having rails at two opposite edges, and tensioning bracket members attached to at least one of said rails, each of said bracket members having a rotatable cam and a lever arm pivoted thereon, said lever arm having a cam slot and being, at its free end attachable to fixed holding means on a side piece of a window frame, the angular position of said lever arm being adjustable by said cam slot in said arm coacting with said rotatable cam pivoted on said bracket, whereby said screen fabric may be adjustably tensioned.

2. A frameless window screen comprising a piece of screen fabric with rails at two opposite edges, and tensioning bracket members attached to said rails, each of said bracket members having a rotatable cam and a lever arm pivoted thereon, each of said lever arms having a cam slot and being, at its free end attachable to a fixed holding means on opposite sides of a window frame, the angular position of said lever arm being adjustable by said cam slot in said arm coacting with said rotatable cam pivoted on said bracket, whereby said screen fabric may be adjustably tensioned.

3. A frameless window screen comprising a piece of wire cloth with metal rails at two opposite edges, said rails being attached to the opposite edges by a clamp flange formed at one edge of each rail, and tensioning bracket members attached to and longitudinally slidable on said rails, each of said bracket members having a rotatable cam and a lever arm pivoted thereon, each of said lever arms having a cam slot and being, at its free end attachable to a fixed holding means on opposite sides of a window frame, the angular position of said lever arms respectively being adjustable by a cam slot in the arm coacting with a rotatable cam pivoted on the associated bracket, whereby said screen fabric may be adjustably tensioned.

4. A frameless window screen comprising a piece of screen fabric having rails at two opposite edges; tensioning bracket members attached to and longitudinally slidable on said rails, each of said bracket members having a rotatable cam and a lever arm pivoted thereon, said lever arms being, at their free ends attachable respectively to fixed holding means on opposite sides of a window frame, the angular position of said lever arm being adjustable by a cam slot in said arm coacting with said rotatable cam pivoted on said bracket; and setting means on said bracket members for positioning said bracket members longitudinally on said rails.

5. In a frameless window screen having opposite rails attached to the side edges of a piece of screen fabric, tensioning bracket members for tightly holding said piece of screen fabric over the opening of a framed window, each of said bracket members comprising a bracket base plate, hook members extending laterally from said base plate, said hook members being adapted to operatively engage a side rail on said screen fabric, a lever arm pivoted to said base plate, said lever arm being provided with a cam slot, and with an attachment ring means adapted to releasably engage a fixed holding means on said window frame, a rotatable cam pivoted on said base plate, said rotatable cam operatively engaging the cam slot in said lever, and means whereby said cam may be turned to adjust the angular relation between said base plate and said lever arm, and the lateral distance between said hook members and said attachment ring means.

6. In a frameless window screen having opposite rails attached to the side edges of a piece of screen fabric, tensioning bracket members for tightly holding said piece of screen fabric over the opening of a framed window, each of said bracket members comprising a bracket base plate, hook members extending laterally from said base plate adapted to hook over a rail on said screen fabric, retainer tabs extending laterally from said base plate and adapted to fit under the edge of said rails, said hook members and said retainer tabs holding said bracket members slidably on said rails, a lever arm pivoted to said base plate, said lever arm being provided with a cam slot, and with an attachment ring means adapted to operatively engage a fixed holding means on said window frame, a rotatable cam pivoted on said base plate, said rotatable cam operatively engaging the cam slot in said lever, and means whereby said cam may be turned to adjust the angular relation between said base plate and said lever arm, and the lateral distance between said hook members and said attachment ring means.

7. The tensioning bracket member as defined in claim 6, in which said bracket base plate is provided with fixing melans adapted to fix said plate longitudinally on a side rai 8. The tensioning bracket member as defined in claim 7, in which said bracket base plate is provided with friction tab means adapted to fix said plate longitudinally on a side rail.

9. In a frameless window screen having opposite rails attached to the side edges of a piece of screen fabric, tensioning bracket members for tightly holding said piece of screen fabric over the opening of a framed window, each bracket member comprising a bracket base plate, a hook member extending laterally from said base plate, said hook member being adapted to operatively engage a rail on said screen fabric, a lever arm pivoted to said base plate, said lever arm being provided with an attachment hook adapted to engage the frame of said window, and means to move said lever arm relative to said base plate whereby to lengthen or shorten the lateral distance between said hook member and said attachment hook.

10. In a frameless window screen having opposite rails attached to the side edges of a piece of screen fabric, tensioning bracket members for tightly holding said piece of screen fabric over the opening of a framed window, each bracket member comprising a bracket base plate, hook members extending laterally from said base plate adapted to hook over a side rail on said screen fabric, retainer tabs extending laterally from said base plate and adapted to fit under the edge of said rails, said hook members and said retainer tabs holding said bracket members slidably on said rails, a lever arm pivoted to said base plate, said lever arm being provided with a cam slot, and with an attachment hook adapted to engage the frame of said window, a rotatable cam pivoted on said base plate, said rotatable cam operatively engaging the cam slot in said lever, and means whereby said cam may be turned to adjust the angular relation between said base plate and said lever arm, and the lateral distance between said hook members and said attachment hook.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,303,301 Milnor Nov. 24, 1942 2,415,200 Willett Feb. 14, 1947 2,449,275 Burns Sept. 14, 1948 

